


Soul's calling

by Marium



Category: The Walking Dead (Comics), The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Daemons, M/M, Mostly Fluff, Regan Secret Santa, only vaguely christmas related, vague mob/crime themes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-20 10:49:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13145079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marium/pseuds/Marium
Summary: Rick isn’t particularly fond of snakes. He isn’t particularly fond of rude obnoxious men who look shady at best and seem to have a fixation on him, either. He definitely doesn’t like when they come together. But it looks like both of them are gonna turn out to be much more likeable than he expected.





	Soul's calling

**Author's Note:**

> For the regan secret santa, in which I was prompted 'daemon au'.

It should have been a nice day in the park. Rick should have just been enjoying the sun and breeze, sitting on a bench and reading his book while putting his eyes on Judith every few minutes, smiling warmly to himself at the sight of her, the sound of her laugh as she ran around with other kids, with her daemon running around her and changing shapes almost faster than Rick could take them in.

He set his eyes on the sky for a moment, where Andrea flew in circles above his head, and just with thinking of her Rick could feel the thrill and pleasure she was feeling, cutting through the wind with her wings. He closed his eyes for a second, letting the sensation fill him, and then returned his attention to Judith, then his book. In a while Judith would be exhausted, then he’d take her home and she’d take a nap. It was all good. It was what it should have been.

And that was what it had been, up to the moment when Rick heard Andrea cry for him in his head. He let the book fall to the floor as he instinctively looked at his daughter, and then he felt his blood completely freeze in his veins, leaving him cold and stiff, momentarily unable to do anything but stare and listen to the heavy  _ thum thum thum _ of his heart in his ears.

Judith was still there, candid and playful as ever. However, where other kids had been before, they had now opted to run away and in their place was a snake. A big snake, almost two meters long and at least as thick as Rick’s arm and with its head raised, almost touching Judith’s nose with its vibrating tongue.

As soon as his petrified state passed, Rick cried for his daughter and rushed towards her, what Andrea had already done moments before. The hawk was between Judith and the snake before Rick was halfway there, wings spread to their widest and yelling as she exposed her talons. The snake seemed mostly unfazed, but it did retreat enough for Rick to grab Judith and raise her up on his arms as he took a couple steps back, wide terrified eyes still on the reptile. Judith seemed to not notice her father’s panic, because all she did was laugh in delighted surprise and hug his neck.

“Get away from my daughter, now!”

“Now, that’s something awfully rude to say, man. You’re gonna hurt her feelings, and if you hurt her feelings, well, you and I are gonna have a little problem.”

Panic still beating hard through his veins, Rick’s eyes snapped fiercely open to the source of the sound as he gripped Judith safer against his chest. He found a man, looking at least a few years older than himself but still strong and energetic, carefreely strolling up towards them, hands in his pockets and whistling happily. He was clad in a leather jacket, with dark jeans and biker boots, and the shirt that could be barely glimpsed under his jacket was a deep, dark red. The clothes looked somewhat worn, but they also looked like worn was exactly what the man wanted, somehow. The beginning of a tattoo could be seen on his neck, and the same could be said for the back of his hand when it came out to take out his sunglasses, revealing a pair of dark eyes that were fixed on him just like his wide sharp grin, shining as much as the three piercings on his left ear.

The man looked like the kind of guy Rick would tell anyone he cared about to be careful around. The strong smell of smoke on him didn’t help, nor did the way he kept staring at Rick with that cold smile that made him shiver and want to hide, away from that almost predatory look. He didn’t flinch, didn’t react at all, when the snake slithered up to him and started wrapping around him, smoothly circling up his leg and then his torso. Far from being bothered, when the snake was settled on his shoulder, most of its body still in rings around his, the man looked warmly at it and tipped his head to the side to place a kiss on its head.

The snake was very clearly his daemon, so it was only natural. Still, Rick couldn’t help but shiver. The man seemed to notice this, because he gave an amused snort and licked the edges of his grin.

“But it’s alright, I can forgive you. I know you didn’t mean to upset her. You didn’t, did you? Of course you didn’t. After all, Lucille here only wanted to be friendly and play with the kids. She’s very sensitive, you know? Fucking loves people and gets all sad and depressed when they’re scared of her. She wants to make friends, is all. I think we’re all entitled to some goddamn friends.”

The snake, Lucille, didn’t seem to be all that affected. Far from being as heartbroken and sad as the man claimed, she seemed to be simply chilling on the sunlight, only she had chosen the man’s shoulder for it rather than some rock. Rick looked at her, skeptical, but chose not to say anything, instead putting Judith on the floor and giving her a gentle poke on the head to encourage her to run off with the other kids. Andrea, however, wasn’t that discreet, and Rick could feel the way she was about to say something about it. The man still had him on edge, his easy smile making him look like he’d still sport it if he ordered his Lucille to wrap around Rick’s chest and constrict him until his bones cracked and he died.

Not that Rick was one to let appearances completely dictate his judgement of a person, but still, it didn’t hurt to be careful. A biker-looking tattooed guy who spoke a lot and made Rick feel like it was a threat when there was nothing inherently threatening in his words, with a daemon that took the shape of a killer snake. Better be careful around him, he decided.

“What’s your name?” Andrea seemed offended to have been interrupted before she could speak, and huffed as she settled down on the grass beside Rick’s feet. Lucille raised her head, looking at her.

Negan grinned wider and put his hand flat against his chest as his hip poked out to the left. “My name’s Negan, pal. Nice of you to ask. Are you gonna be my friend? Gonna make us some company? What’s your name, handsome?”

The way he wriggled his eyebrows when he said the word ‘friend’ made Rick be completely sure that a friendship was the last thing on his mind. He scowled, huffed, and turned around.

“C’mon, Andrea. Let’s get Judith and go home.”

“Hey, wait!” The man’s voice was significantly less smug and slithery now, and for a moment Rick deigned him with a look over his shoulder, eyebrow raised quizzingly and judgingly. Negan smiled in a somewhat nervous way and tilted his head. “Alright, fair, I’m making you kinda uncomfortable. It wouldn’t be the first time I make a less than ideal first impression, sorry about that. But I just want to be friendly, I swear! I’m just like Lucille here, we simply aren’t too good at it.”

Rick hummed, narrowing his eyes at him. On his shoulder, Andrea huffed.

“Rick, this guy is really creepy. Don’t tell me you’re gonna listen to him” she deadpanned.

“Well, I see your little sparrow over there doesn’t like me, huh? My feelings are fucking hurt, man. Ain’t pretty to be called creepy, I just want to be charming.”

“I’m a hawk!”

Rick snorted, somewhat amused. Betrayed and offended that he didn’t defend her honor, Andrea glared at him before flying off to the ground once more. Negan grinned at the scene and spread his arm out, which Lucille used to slide down to the floor, her shiny, sleek body rolling around Negan’s. Once she was off him, Negan rolled his neck and chuckled when Lucille approached Andrea and circled her curiously, under her careful gaze.

Rick put his hands on his hips and raised his chin at Negan.

“So do you wanna talk or are you gonna go now?”

“Well, I’d very fucking much like to talk to you, Rick. You seem interesting.”

“You have until my daughter gets tired and asks to go home. Which I assume is within five to ten minutes.”

“Aren’t you a charmer” Negan hummed with a laugh. He approached Rick, stopping just in the edge between comfortable and uncomfortable and leaning forward a few inches, grin on his face. His eyes briefly flicked to Judith behind Rick’s back. “Cute kid. Sorry for the scare earlier, I get why you’d freak out, taking your kid to the park and then seeing a huge snake next to her. But I pinky promise, Lucille’s never hurt anyone. That wasn’t trying to hurt her or me first, at least.”

Yeah, there was definitely something gleefully dangerous on Negan’s expression when he said that last bit. Rick fidgeted a little and directed his eyes towards the snake, as his mind went to those documentaries he’d seen speaking about how fast and easy a snake could kill someone, if they wanted. Lucille seemed peaceful enough, though, wrapped on herself and poking her vibrating tongue out at Andrea, who was now calmed down and inspecting her, so Rick allowed himself to relax a bit.

It was kind of cute seeing them, actually.

Rick didn’t let himself be intimidated and nodded at Negan. “Yeah, don’t worry about that. It was kind of rude of me, really, to get all defensive like that. Daemons are what they are, after all. No reason to judge someone based on it.”

Negan gave a pleased, easy smile, deep dimples appearing on his cheeks and his eyes half-lidding. “Glad you think so. If it helps you feel better, you’re not the first one to get on edge because of her. Or because of me. And not everyone bothers to change their mind.”

“Andrea had a stage when she was all reptiles, when I was eleven” Rick hummed, mimicking the man’s smile and shifting weight on his legs. “A lizard, a snake, a newt, and back to lizard. For about three months, and then she was all kind of cats. But yeah, kinda surprised me, but she seems friendly. Maybe I’ll bring Judith to say hi before we leave.”

“Yeah, we’d both like that.” Negan’s expression took on that hard edge again, mixed with amusement, dimples only growing. “You’re still surprised to see her, right? Not usual to see a daemon like this.”

Rick understood what Negan was getting at. Far from recoiling, he grinned teasingly and hummed. “Trying to decide if it’s random or if it says something about you. Does it mean you’re dangerous? People don’t usually have their daemons fixed on a huge snake.”

“I don’t know about dangerous. Hell, it probably has something to do with that. But in any case, it’s fitting. I have a huge ass snake as my daemon to match the huge ass snake I got in my pants.”

Everyone went silent. Rick’s words died on his lips and he stared wide-eyed at Negan. Even Lucille seemed to be judging her human, sighing wearily.

“Jesus, Negan…”

Rick suddenly felt a surge of sympathy towards her. The soul-deep tiredness of her voice would have that effect on him.

Negan didn’t seem to be catching up on the awkwardness he had put on Rick. Or didn’t care. The way he wriggled his eyebrows seemed to indicate the former. Only when Rick huffed and rolled his eyes did he seem to realize it, and a weak paleness took over his face.

“Well… Lovely to meet you, Negan, but my daughter is calling to me over there. See you some other time.”

Judith was actually deep in play with the other kids, and when Rick called her over, she just stuck her tongue out at him and ran after the ball in the opposite direction. Rick sighed and massaged his brow.

“I, em… Shit, I did it again, didn’t I? Say shit before I think.”

Rick couldn’t help but snort. Negan seemed to be genuinely worried, at the very least. “You kinda did.”

“Am I making myself look like an asshole?”

“Pretty much. But you also look like you’re an asshole who simply doesn’t have control of his mouth, so that’s sort of balancing it out. You’re in a neutral zone.” Rick finally turned around, giving up on Judith listening to him. He even gave Negan a smirk. “At the very least you’re entertaining. And you don’t look too dangerous. You did make me wonder what a biker was doing in a park.”

Negan took a hand to his chest. “Gee, Rick, you’re offending me. Doesn’t a man have a right to enjoy some sun and fresh air? Plus my girl loves the fuck outta it. She’d fucking purr when she goes through the grass, if she were a kitten.” Negan made a pause, then he smiled somewhat nervously. “Really, please don’t hate me. I’m a nice guy deep down. I like walking on the park! What kind of bad guy walks on the park for the hell of it?”

“Plenty, I’m sure. Why do you want me to like you, anyway?”

“You’re cool, I like you.” Negan’s expression turned softer, warmer, and he glanced at Lucille. She was currently moving through the grass after Andrea took off to fly up over the trees. Just looking at her, Rick knew she really was happy down there in the grass. “Besides, you’re not acting like she’s gonna kill you any moment. I told you, not everyone’s like that. I appreciate it a lot.”

Well, Rick couldn’t say he didn’t sympathize with that, not when it obviously meant so much to Negan.

Half an hour later, as he watched Rick and Judith walk towards the car, Negan sat down on the grass, legs bent comfortably. He absently ripped off grass, while his other hand caressed Lucille, rolled up beside him.

“What was that bird called, again?”

“Andrea.”

“You like her, don’t you? Feel a connection to her. Even if you think she might not feel it back. Not yet."

Lucille nodded. “How do you know?”

Negan grinned, wide and genuine like he hadn’t in a long time.

“‘Cause I feel that I click just right with Rick, too. Just gotta convince him he clicks right back with me.”

 

-0-o-0-o-0-

 

Negan liked to tell himself that he was gonna go back to the park, anyway. He went to have a stroll every day, to compensate all his cigarettes with some fresh air and moving his legs for a while. Some days he even gave up on his biker look and opted for some flannel or denim, and he almost looked like the kind of person who did nice wholesome stuff as walking in the park. Besides, Lucille did need it. The deep feeling of pleasure Negan got from her when she was there was enough to make the effort worth it.

If he so happened to be looking for Rick, well, no one needed to know that.

So maybe he went there at the same hour he found him that first day, or always happened to pass through the kid zone. Maybe he looked attentively in search of him, and he lingered around longer than he usually would - in any case, Lucille was thankful for the extra time.

It had been a week and a half and Negan was starting to get sick of not finding Rick - and alright, Negan might have talked to him for half an hour but he had  _ really _ felt himself click with the guy, alright? Don’t judge him - when he saw something that put a grin on his face. There, among the kids, was Rick’s girl, Judith.

Immediately his eyes wiped the place, searching for the man, but no such luck. His eyes did go bright when he spotted a hawk on a tree, but then it flew towards someone he didn’t recognize, a teen long-haired boy, changing into a sparrow in the process. Not a moment later, Judith came over to the boy too, squealed excitedly to him about something, and ran off to play again. It didn’t take long for Negan to clue him in as Judith’s brother, or something like that.

It wasn’t Rick, but it did tell Negan that him coming here wasn’t a one-time thing.

He momentarily thought about going over, but Judith had only seen him for a moment, petting Lucille hello and then she was gone, and the boy would probably think he was a creep - which really, wasn’t that much off the mark. Instead, he stood against a tree at a safe distance, discreetly inspecting the scene. He couldn’t help laughing to himself at how adorable the kid was, all excitement as she ran around, and his eyes shone with interest when he saw the boy. His daemon was still changing shapes, but it was always some sort of bird, he saw. He had the impression it’d soon be fixed on a prey bird, just like his old man’s. The boy didn’t seem that old, but he had to be pretty damn mature, if his mind was so close to definitive adulthood. Negan wondered what kind of father Rick was.

Ten minutes into his inspection, Negan gently poked Lucille with the tip of his shoe. She looked up at him, and he smiled charmingly down at her.

“Darling, do you know how damn fucking grateful would I be if you did a huge vital favor for me?”

“Please tell me you’re not gonna ask me to go spy on them” she said dryly. Negan mock-winced.

“Spy is such a fucking ugly word, Lucy. More like data gathering. Look, it’s sunny and cozy as fuck over there, just go there for a while and if you happen to find anything tasty, that’s a bonus, huh?”

He could feel her judgement, but he only give a huge grin and blew her a kiss when she silently started sliding over there, discreet in the higher grass. She did draw some wary looks, which had Negan biting the inside of his lip in protective irritation, but as she didn’t go near the children, no one took issue with her.

The boy’s name was Carl, Lucille reported back eventually, and his daemon was Sophia. He called Judith Judy, and she was complaining about not having come here lately. Carl assured her that dad had simply been busy, grading exams - he was a professor, it would seem - and he’d be back to bringing her over soon. The knowledge put a smirk on Negan’s face.

He almost considered following them when they were going home, just in case, but he talked himself out of it. Lucille did, too, with her judging glare. He didn’t want to be  _ that _ much of a creep. It’d probably end up ruining whatever he might have with Rick, in any case. He’d just keep coming to check, now that he knew Rick was certainly gonna come back. If not tomorrow, then the day after that. And the one after that, and as many days as it took.

It wasn’t like he had anything more pleasant waiting for him anywhere else, in any case. He’d take all the time it needed and cling to it. He sighed, something rueful coming to his expression, and made Lucille get onto his shoulders as he went back to his car. He absently pet her.

After all, almost no one’s daemon turned into a killer snake. Rick wasn’t wrong. She did say something about what kind of person he was.

 

-0-o-0-o-0-

 

Rick was back the next day, and the grin in Negan’s face was so wide his cheeks hurt. He played it casual, acting all surprised and pleased to run into Rick there, what a coincidence isn’t it? Must be fate telling us something - as if Negan hadn’t dragged himself there early in the morning, planning to stay as many hours as it took for Rick to show up.

Rick gave him a look that was half-unimpressed, half-amused, but he did reach out to pet Lucille as a greeting, where she lied on Negan like a scarf. A pleasant chill went over Negan.

“Well, aren’t you a stalker?” Rick hummed, eyes shining with teasing amusement. Negan felt kind of guilty when he thought that he wouldn’t be so casual about it if he knew how much of truth there was in the statement. But he hid it and shrugged.

“Man, if I wanted to find you I’d have an easy time, you fucking believe me. Adult male called Rick with a hawk called Andrea, not that hard to locate. I have friends in administration” he said with a wink. “I hope you’ll take my patience as a sign of good will.”

As soon as it left his mouth, he cursed himself. He was aiming for joking, but now that it was out there it hit him just how damn sinister that felt. Why didn’t he fucking learn to say things to himself before doing so out loud? Luckily, though, Rick seemed to take no offense, because he just hummed and raised an eyebrow.

“Guess I will have to take it that way.”

Andrea seemed clearly wary of him, commenting on how stupid Rick was being about it, even if she was getting along better with Lucille now. Rick, on the other hand, had a wary fondness of him, it’d appear, if the way he gave Negan his number by the time he was leaving was any indication.

“Don’t make me regret it” he warned with a smile when he was about to leave. Negan grinned almost ferally.

“Don’t worry, Ricky boy. You won’t.”

Negan couldn’t really promise that, because well, he was a very regrettable person in general, he was aware of that. Texting with Rick, there were more than a few times where he was sure he had said something cringey enough to make Rick block him or some shit, but it looked like Rick was a stronger person than Negan was giving him credit for, if he was able to take all that shit with humor rather than stiff high-horse indignation like any normal human being would have. It was going… I was going good, actually.

Good enough for the man to agree to give Negan a date, three weeks and five physical meetings later.

Nothing too fancy, sadly. Negan convinced Rick to let him take the man out for dinner, but instead of the big expensive place Negan had been hoping to show off his date in, he had to settle for a less sumptuous place. Although, when Negan smiled over at Rick at the other side of the table, in flannel and glasses and magnificent even as he munched on his ravioli - fuck, he looked adorable - Negan found that he didn’t mind that much.

“So Rick” he asked halfway into the dinner, after the laugh at one of his jokes had died down, “I’m ashamed of himself that I haven’t asked you what you do yet. How does a fine man as yourself support these two cute as fuck kids, plus your own cute as fuck ass? Am I wrong in hoping you do stripteases?”

Rick rolled his eyes in the face of Negan’s shameless eyebrow wriggle. He took a sip of his beer. “I’m a professor in college. I have degrees in both history and literature, so I give classes of both and get enough money to support them on my own.”

Negan’s eyes shone. “Look at you, daddy is smart as all hell, isn’t he? Not gonna lie, that’s fucking hot. Would you spank me if I tried to copy in one of your exams? Put me to  _ work _ to earn forgiveness and the pass?”

“Very funny.” Rick rolled his eyes. At this point, he met Negan’s obscenities with dryness rather than disgust. Negan took that as a win. “And how about you? You must make quite a lot of money, if you insist so much on taking me to fancy places.”

A sharp, playful smirk made its way to Negan’s lips, while his eyes shone for a completely different reason. “Are you completely sure you wanna know the answer to that question, Grimes?”

He knew what he was saying, he knew what he was implying, and he knew Rick was everything but an idiot. For a few moments, he anxiously waited for Rick’s reaction under his mask of nonchalant amusement, eyes fixed on the man’s thoughtful face. Then, Rick shrugged and traced a smile. It wasn’t quite the most carefree one Negan had seen, but it was enough.

“That’s an answer on its own, you know.”

“Yeah, I guess it fucking is, huh?”

“You know, you could try to at least be discreet. Your looks give it all away.”

“Believe me, I considered it. The snake kinda gives everything away, though. People are fucking prejudiced little shits, didn’t you know? So I’m not gonna make an effort to look like a sheep when I’m a wolf. At least it keeps annoying people away. And interesting people such as yourself within nice distance.” Negan winked, then he went silent and spoke again, softer. “I’m not gonna go into any details, Rick, for both our sakes. But I’d really like to know if this is the kind of shit that turns a first date into an only date for you.”

Negan shouldn’t have been hurt that Rick had to think about it. It was what he had expected, really, even if what he had hoped was Rick jumping at the chance to reassure him. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to hold it against the man.

“You just keep all that shit away from my house and my kids. And me, well, I guess we’ll see.”

Rick was smirking as he said that, and Negan sank in his seat as he sighed in relief. “I could kiss you right now, Rick, I really fucking would.”

“Prove it, then” Rick dared, fire in his eyes as he leaned forward. Negan was left breathless at just how fucking magnificent this man was.

He did prove it, one hour later, just before he left Rick at his house. When he parked the car, without thinking, he reached out for Rick to bring him in, and the man went along just fine. Their lips met, and it was hot and messy and hungry, and Negan moaned as he slipped his tongue into Rick’s mouth and licked at his tongue. Negan was grunting, grasping the front of Rick’s shirt in his fist while his other hand rested on the man’s nape, controlling the pace of the kiss. It was only because Rick allowed it, though, and he was aware of it. It was proven when Rick decided the kiss was over and then it was, even if Negan would have been happy to keep going all night.

“Goodnight, Negan” Rick smiled, eyes alight with mischief in the darkness, and slipped out of the car. Immediately Negan saw Andrea, who had flied over the car the whole way, land on his shoulder. He waved at her, even if Andrea glared with obvious mistrust, as if she didn’t believe he was the right choice in boyfriend for Rick to make. Negan couldn’t say he blamed her, but still he gave her a shit-eating grin until she disappeared into the house along with her human.

Rick still had his doubts, if Andrea was something to go on. It didn’t matter, though. Negan would be on his best behavior around him. He didn’t want to lose what was blooming between them. He wouldn’t.

 

-0-o-0-o-0-

 

Rick didn’t mean to spend the night with Negan, the first time it happened. It was far from being an unpleasant thought, but it was something that just happened rather than something they consciously chose to do.

He’d been planning to just spend a while at his boyfriend’s house, then go home to his kids. But then they  _ had  _ to make a marathon of the Lord of the rings movies - really, Negan? Rick wasn’t judging, but he wasn’t allowed to call Rick a nerd ever again - and by the time the second one ended, Rick found himself at Negan’s place at nearly 1 in the morning.

A quick call to Carl told him that the boy was more than willing and able to make do on his own for himself and his sister for one night - and so much more than willing to assume and judge Rick for what was keeping him away at Negan’s, even when Rick insisted that they were just watching movies.

“You think this is funny, don’t you?” Rick inquired dryly when he ended the call, giving a look to an endlessly amused Negan. The man gave a loud laugh and shook his head.

“I don’t think it’s funny, Rick, I know it is. But maybe it’s just a sign that you and I should start thinking of taking another step? You think you can wait for tomorrow for the third one?”

Negan’s voice was deep and rumbly and probably only partially joking, but he didn’t look offended when Rick stood up and gave him a long judging glare before going off to the bedroom. Negan followed.

“If we  _ must _ watch them all, it’s gonna be tomorrow, but only because I need some sleep. I hope your bed is comfortable.”

“Oh, you wouldn’t believe how fucking cozy that shit is, Rick. But I think that my arms are the better choice here, don’t you agree, baby?”

Rick snorted, but he did find himself smiling and feeling a pleasant warm in his cheeks when he thought of falling asleep against the warmth of Negan’s chest. It was still there, only growing and growing, a handful minutes later when he was slipping into the bed, down to his undershirt and boxers, and Negan did the same on the opposite side. He could feel the man’s hungry gaze on him even more than he could hear the man’s lewd comments about what might happen. His face was boiling hot, but he was laughing, too.

“Come on, baby, just a little bit of fooling around? Doesn’t that sound good, huh?” Negan’s hand settled on Rick’s ass as soon as he was within reaching distance and squeezed. Rick squealed and half-heartedly glared at him.

“Negan, I’m half-asleep as it is. Can your ego take me falling asleep on you in the middle of it?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh, believe me, of all the things you could do falling asleep is fuckinglitely not one of them” Negan laughed, even as he slipped his hand up to the more innocent location of Rick’s lower back. His eyes lost all lust, being filled with warmth instead as he leaned in to kiss Rick, gentle and slow. “Sleep good, baby” he whispered against his lips, and the pure adoration that Rick could hear in his voice made him shiver.

Rick fell asleep on Negan’s arms, cheek pressed against his chest, and one of his last thoughts was that he wouldn’t have minded getting rid of the white cloth of the tee that stood between his skin and Negan’s. He thought that he possibly would never get enough of the man’s warmth.

 

-0-o-0-o-0-

 

When Rick was at that point where he wasn’t asleep anymore but far from coherent thought still, in the morning, one of the things his brain registered was that there was something against his spread out hand. Cold, but not unpleasantly so, and somewhat soft. Still with his eyes closed, he messily grabbed for it and brought it close, cradling it in his arms. He sighed pleased and thought how wonderful it’d be to go back to sleep.

Eventually, his eyes fluttered open on their own. He saw that he had a snake a bit thicker than his own arm no more than a palm away from his face. He screamed and fell down to the floor in his hurry to get away, tangled in the sheets.

He cursed as he rubbed his shoulder where he had fallen, and looked into the bed, where Lucille lied looking somewhere between amused and offended. She was incredibly expressive, for a snake.

“Sorry, sorry about that” he muttered, offering an apologetic smile. “Not polite, I know. It was just a bit too much for when my brain wasn’t properly working yet, you know?”

“Well, at least you’re apologizing. I told you, my girl is very sensitive.” Negan stood on the doorway, arms crossed and leaning on the doorframe, wearing exactly what he had gone to bed in last night and looking amused at Rick. Andrea was on his shoulder, and he papped her a bit before he moved in to check if Rick was ok after the fall.

Rick didn’t know if he had something bruised or not, but what he did know was that seeing Negan and Andrea so casual and comfortable with one another had put a feeling so bubbly and light on his chest that he’d have laughed in glee even if his leg had broken.

They were sitting at the table, eating the breakfast that Negan had been doing - the sausages were a bit burnt, since Negan left them on too long when he went to check on Rick, but it was good regardless - and laughing together as they spoke in a way that had Andrea poking far too much fun at Rick, when there was a knock on the door. Without waiting for any acknowledgement, a man let himself in and walked up to the kitchen.

He was blonde and the side of his face was severely scarred. Rick hissed in sympathy when he saw him, and the man looked visibly surprised to see Rick there. Rick suddenly went crimson red and muttered an excuse as he went to the bedroom to put his pants on. He brought Negan’s when he came back, and the man thanked him with a soft smile.

Other than that Negan wasn’t smiling anymore, but he was still clearly relaxed and not surprised with this man’s presence. “Dwight, a friend from work” he told Rick, with a somewhat more serious expression. “Let’s leave it at that.”

Rick hummed and inspected Dwight, who was inspecting him right back. Rick felt a bit anxious in his presence, but the man seemed curious, nothing else.

“I don’t want to know the details, do I?”

“No, baby, my guess is that you fucking don’t want to” Negan sighed. He smiled sadly at Rick and squeezed his shoulder. “I’m sorry, I should have told these assholes I was gonna take the day for myself.”

“It’s alright, don’t worry” Rick assured. He leaned in and Negan met him halfway, framing Rick’s face in his hands as his lips moved gentle and loving over Rick’s, both of them completely ignoring Dwight’s suddenly awkward presence. Rick smiled into the kiss and rested his forehead on Negan’s. “See you later?”

Negan grinned. “You bet. This shit shouldn’t take me more than a few hours. See you for lunch, alright?”

Rick nodded and then he was on his way, walking down the street to his car. He snuggled himself better into his coat. It was starting to get cold. Might snow soon.

“I don’t dislike him anymore” Andrea said, casual beside him. “But aren’t you worried about all this stuff he’s got going on?”

Rick pondered on it for a second. “You know what? It might be incredibly stupid of me, but it doesn’t worry me half as much as it should.” He couldn’t help his silly smile. God, he was so disgustingly in love, a more sarcastic part of himself said. “I know Negan’s never gonna be a danger to any of us.”

 

-0-o-0-o-0-

 

“Alright, so now we need to find something for Judith… What can a five years old girl want?”

“Rick, what does a five years old girl  _ not _ want? Look, the hard part was Carl, if you could find a present for a moody teen then you can find a present for your girl. Just walk into any toy shop and buy anything. Or hell, buy everything. I’m rich enough, I can buy it for you.”

Rick gave him a glare as he kept walking down the street. “Wouldn’t you like to be called my sugar daddy, would you?”

Negan grinned, tongue poking out between his teeth, and he adjusted his black coat and shrugged off the snow that fell onto it from where it remained on the trees. “Don’t act like you wouldn’t love to call me daddy, baby boy.”

Rick rolled his eyes and ignored him. Beside him Negan laughed, but offered no further gross commentary. Instead, he helped him decide when Rick paused in front of a shop and looked at the window, trying to decide what giant plush toy his daughter would like best, a rabbit or a lion. Negan was making a strong case for the lion - they are fucking badass, Rick - Judith doesn’t care about badass, Negan - when he saw someone approach. Immediately he went stiff and his expression soured.

“Job acquaintance incoming, Rick” he muttered to him, and his boyfriend had just enough time to shift his attitude in time for the man to be next to them. He took a moderately defensive posture while Negan took a more commanding one, tall and proud and glaring down at the guy. Said guy was grinning up at Negan, apparently missing the way the man wasn’t really all that pleased to see him, and extended his hand out for a shake. Negan didn’t take it.

“Hey, boss, how are you doing? Fancy meeting you here” he exclaimed, cheery and happy. Negan just narrowed his eyes.

“Yeah, fancy that. I usually don’t expect to see you guys on my off time.”

“Me neither! I was really surprised to see you.” Negan almost bared his teeth. Only Rick putting his hand on his made him somewhat calm down. The guy followed the gesture with his eyes and inspected Rick like he had suddenly appeared in the scene. He gave him an once-over and smiled at a growingly angered Negan. “Is this the guy you’ve been dating lately? I did hear you’ve been seeing someone, but I gotta say this isn’t what I expected. You know, younger and such, a more boytoy kinda thing. This guy’s gotta be something more serious, right? Looks smart enough.” His eyes now moved to the shop window. “Are you looking for toys? Do you have kids?”

And that was too much. Negan barked out a “Lucille!” and then the snake was falling from his shoulders to the ground. Careless of who might be looking, Negan gripped the guy and made him walk after her into an alley, their footsteps hurried and messy on the snow. Rick quickly went after him, panic rising as he followed his boyfriend into more and more secluded areas until they found themselves on an empty backstreet. His breath hitched with horror when he saw Negan coldly looking down at the guy, who was on the floor with Lucille wrapped around his chest.

“Look, you vermin, I don’t want any of you shitbags ever touching my private life with a ten meter stick, got it?”

The man seemed to want to answer, but he couldn’t get the air for it. Rick rushed at Negan’s side and gripped his arm, forcing his attention towards him.

“Negan, are you fucking crazy? I’m not gonna let you kill a man in front of me. And look at Lucille, she doesn’t wanna do this. He peeked around a bit, so what? Believe me, it makes me more uncomfortable than it does you, so you fucking better listen to me when I tell you to let him go right now.”

Negan looked him in the eye, his own wide and surprised, and more than a bit chastised, and he made a gesture towards Lucille. Immediately, the snake unwrapped from around the man, who gasped for air as she slithered back towards her owner, shooting Rick a glance that he could only interpret as grateful.

Negan shoved his hands onto his pockets after warning the guy one last time and seeing him run away. “Look, I wasn’t gonna kill him, alright? I’m not fucking stupid. Wouldn’t be out here in the street if I were. I was just warning him.”

“Still” Rick glared at him, stern and not giving in, not even an inch. “I told you a lot of time ago, Negan. I want your work completely away from my kids and me. I’m not gonna finish anything over this, but that’s something you have to understand, you hear me? If I see this kind of shit enough times, I might have to reconsider quite a few things about you. Please don’t make me get to that point.”

Negan held his eyes, shrunken down and ashamed, and then sighed. He ran his hand over his eyes. “Fuck, Rick, of course I understand. Why do you think I freaked out so much over that? It’s because I want this shit to be as far away from all of you as possible. Wanted to leave that fucking clear to him.” He came closer to Rick, hands gentle on his neck. “I want you to know this, Rick, I’ve been spending less and less time with all that shit. Last year all my guys would know my fling. But you’re not a fling and none of them know you except Dwight, because I really want this to work. I’m ready to fucking give up all of it if I need to. You have to believe me.”

Rick searched Negan’s eyes for a long moment, lips pursed, and then he sighed. He reached out for Negan’s neck too and squeezed before leaning for a kiss.

“I believe you, Negan. But I also think that there are some things you need to be reminded of. You couldn’t control running into him, but you can control not breaking his ribs because of it. I don’t want to have to see any of that shit ever again, alright? It’s hard enough to think of you doing it when I’m not there.”

Rick sighed again and walked back to the main street, shoulders fallen. Negan stared for a long moment. “Not for much longer, Rick. I promise” he whispered under his breath, and followed him shortly after.

 

-0-o-0-o-0-

 

Judith was deeply asleep, and Carl was very likely not asleep, but at least he had retreated to his bedroom already. Negan watched with an adoring smile on his lips as Rick set up the last presents under the tree, four for Carl and five for Judith, plus one for Negan. Negan squeezed his shoulder as he bent down to put one for Rick himself next to that one. They smiled at each other, barely seeing their features on the darkness, and then they went upstairs as quietly as they could.

For once Negan didn’t say anything as they got ready for bed, but Rick wrapped himself into the man’s arms all the same, sighing happily at the warmth of skin against skin. He felt Negan kiss his hair, his cheek, his lips, and then snuggle him closer before going still and closing his eyes. Rick hummed happily and wrapped his arm around him too.

Andrea didn’t like to sleep on Rick’s bedroom, choosing instead to do so on a room down the hallway which Rick had made sure was more than perfect for her. Lucille, however, did enjoy staying with them, every time Negan assured her that he and Rick weren’t gonna be up to nasty stuff, going to sleep with Andrea otherwise. She was rolled up on herself on one corner of the bed, and with his free hand, Rick briefly caressed her before settling it over his chest.

At some point, he had decided he really loved snakes.


End file.
